THIS JUSTIN ... 'KRAMER VS. KRAMER' KID IS BACK

By KEVIN O'SULLIVAN

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Feb 25, 1996 | 12:00 AM

Sixteen years ago, an angelic little boy captured the heart of the nation and took Hollywood by storm. Like Macaulay Culkin, Justin Henry burst onto the scene with sudden and unexpected fanfare. At the tender age of 8, he was being showered with the kind of big money offers most adults don't see in a lifetime. Unlike Macaulay Culkin, however, Justin rejected every single one of them. Now, at 24, the young actor is trying to make his mark in Tinseltown all over again. And there is something about Justin's extraordinary past that's already getting him noticed. "When I send in my rsum, it's nice to be able to include the fact that I was nominated for an Oscar," he laughs. "I guess that helps my chances!

" "I could have been a child star," he continues, "but I wasn't keen and my parents certainly weren't. I went back to being a normal kid. "I am so grateful to my mom and dad for keeping me away from Hollywood. I worry about kids like Macaulay Culkin.

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" The year was 1979 and the movie was the Academy Award-winning "Kramer vs. Kramer," an instant classic about the rigors of divorce. As Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep battled out the disintegration of their characters' marriage, the real star of the heart-rending drama was their son played by a youngster who had never acted before. Justin edged out more than 700 other candidates for the role of innocent victim Billy Kramer. The mop-haired little boy became best pals with Hoffman, his screen father, as newspapers and magazines had a field day with "Justin and Dustin" headlines. "I wasn't that impressed," recalls Henry. "When it was over, I just went back to school. At 8, that showbiz stuff is not that big of a deal.

" Not that he doesn't have fond memories of his time in the limelight. "It was a great thing for me," he says. "On one level, it was a great experience for a little kid and on another level it was the beginning of a career.

" Opportunity knocked when a casting director arrived at Justin's school in affluent Rye, N.

Y. "I'd never acted before in my life never even tried to," he recalls. "Then I was at school one day when the casting director came around and picked me and a bunch of my friends to go for an open audition. "After I was chosen for the role, no one taught me how to act. Director Bob Benton and Dustin would explain things to me and I'd just go ahead and do it. "Dustin and I became very close while the film was being made. I thought all the cool equipment on the set was awesome and I liked all the attention. As I got older, I began to understand it all a little better. Now I really love it.

" Despite his past glory, Henry admits his mail box is not exactly bulging with exciting film offers. But now, after landing a major role in TNT's upcoming "Andersonville," the harrowing story of the notorious Civil War prison camp, he's confident his fortunes are about to change. And Justin says he has no regrets about turning his back on the big time after "Kramer vs. Kramer.

" "Making the transition from child actor to adult actor is not a very easy thing to do, he says. Because I backed off after my little taste of fame, I've been able to have a normal life. Justin was paid just over $5,000 for his part in a production which earned Oscars for both Hoffman and Streep. Impressed Academy members nominated newcomer Justin for a Best Supporting Actor award. Even though he didn't win, the youngster emerged as the hottest property in Hollywood the number one target for every studio in town. But Justin's father who runs a financial company and his real estate executive mother were strong enough and wise enough to say no to the inevitable avalanche of massive money deals. It was five years before Justin stepped in front of a camera again. During his teens, he appeared with Molly Ringwald in "Sixteen Candles," with Don Johnson in "Sweet Hearts Dance," with Roy Scheider in "Tiger Town" and with Richard Harris is "Martin's Day.

" But the movies were few and far enough between to keep Justin's feet firmly on the ground. And when he went to Skidmore College, he forgot about films all over again and majored in psychology. "My college years had nothing to do with acting," he says. "I deliberately avoided studying drama or theater and stuff like that. I've done a bunch of other jobs to support myself. Acting pays the bills sometimes but not always. At least not yet!

" In "Andersonville," a two-parter premiering March 3, Henry plays a Northern prisoner called Tyce, a bitter and reluctant soldier forced to endure the horror of what amounted to a 19th century American concentration camp. Directed by acclaimed movie maker John Frankenheimer, the drama chronicles a story of inhumanity. "Andersonville was around for about a year and a half, and 12,000 people died," says Henry. "The guy who ran it was the only person to be tried and convicted of war crimes during the Civil War.

" "The script was fantastic and you don't turn down the chance to work with someone like John Frankenheimer.

" Two years ago, finally ready to immerse himself in the Hollywood he has always been suspicious of, Henry switched coasts and moved to Los Angeles. He now shares a house near the beach with two old friends. "Even though I'm trying to establish myself, I do turn parts down," he says. "I still have the money that I've made from my films so I guess I have the luxury of being able to turn down crap.